Bowling game device



Jan. 14, 1964 M. J. KOUBA 3,117,791

BOWLING GAME DEVICE Filed Aug. 18, 1960 r I 34 v 12 Fig.2

Milo J Kouba 1N VEN TOR.

BY w mq,

United States Patent 3,117,791 BOWLING GAME DEVIE Milo .l. Kouba, 1742 Sierra Drive, NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Filed Aug. 18, 19%, Ser. No. 50,543 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-141) The present invention generally relates to "a game device and more particularly to a game device which may be employed in a game simulating actual conditions encountered while bowling.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a bowling game device generally in the form of a gameboard having a spinner thereon together with a particu-lar and accurate arrangement of indicia 'whereby the spinner will orientate itself by chance after being spun with the various indications made by the pointer actually simulating those conditions encountered while bowling.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bowling game device in accordance with the preceding object incorporating a removable pointer generady in the form of a transparent arrow whereby the pointer may be positioned on either side of the garneboard, the gameboard having indicia on one side thereof for men bowlers and indicia on the other side thereof for women bowlers with both indicia being accurately calculated to simulate the actual conditions and situations which are normally encountered by bowlers.

Another important feature of the present invention is to provide a bowling game device of the character described that is quite simple in construction, easy-to-use, highly entertaining, simulative of actual bowling conditions and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the bowling game device of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the construction of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a detailed sectional view illustrating the manner of mounting the spinner or arrow on the gameboard.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the bowling game device of the present invention which includes a generally flat gameboard 12 which may be constructed of any suitable size and any particular shape desired although it is preferred that it be rectangular or square and sufficient in size for ease of handling and use. The center of the gameboard 12 is provided with a cylindrical grommet 14 which may be of metal or plastic construction and the gameboard 12 may be of cardboard, plastic, paper or any oth r suitable material which is relatively rigid and still inexpensive to manufacture.

Rotatably mounted on the board 12 is an elongated transparent pointer 16 generally in the form of an arrow having a V-shaped notch 13 in one end thereof and a V-shaped pointed end 20 at the other end thereof. The pointer 16 is preferably constructed of a plastic material or any other suitable transparent material and is provided with a longitudinal hair line 22 thereon extending rorn the center to the pointed end 2%. At the center of the pointer there is provided a generally cylindrical upstanding knob 22 that may be integral with the pointer 16 or rigidly secured thereto. Depending from the knob 24 is a pin 26 of cylindrical configuration rotatably received within the grommet 1d and removable therefrom. The pin 2.6 rotatably received in the grommet 14 forms 3,ll7,79l Patented .Fan. 14, 1964 Thus, by imparting rotational movement to the knob 24, the arrow or pointer 16 will be rotated about the axis of the pin 26. By merely lifting up on the top 24, the knob 24, the pointer :16 and the pin 26 are removed from the gameboard 1 2. whereby the gameboard may be inverted so that the pointer may be disposed on the opposite surface thereof. This enables indicia to appear on both surfaces of the garneboard with one indicia being specifically calculated for men bowlers and the other ind icia being specifically calculated for women bowlers. The particular construction of the knob 24, pointer 16, and pin 26 may vary, that is, it may be of all one-piece construction or of an assembled construction and the surface of the knob 24 may be roughened or knurled to facilitate the sph'lning thereof if desired.

Appearing on the surface of the gameboard 12 in any suitable manner is indicia. This may be applied to a paper member glued to the surface of the gameboard 12 or may be printed directly on the surface of the gameboard 12. in any event, the indicia is arranged in a circular pattern and includes a plurality of concentric division lines 23 disposed in concentrically spaced relation to provide a plurality of concentrically arranged circumferential areas. Each circumferential area is divided into a. plurality of arcuate segments by radial division lines 39 which are staggered in relation to each other and are arranged in a particular pattern. Each area formed by the division i-ines 2-3 and 3%) is provided with numerical indieia 3 2 therein. In each circumferential area, there is provided a very small solid colored area 34- a nd-a very small area 36 which is solidly colored on each end and is white or of some other background color in the center. T he areas 34 and 36 designate foul and gutter respectively while the numerical indicia 32 designates the number of pins which have been knocked over by a particular ball. Spinning of the arrow designates the launching or rolling of the ball and the result designated by the hairline 22 in relation to the indicia 32 indicates the number of pins toppled by the ball.

Also, the arrow or pointer 16 is provided with numerical indicia 3S thereon alongside of the hairline 2:2 and on staggered opposite sides thereof for indicating the ring or circumferential area of the gameboa-rd which should be read for the second spin of the pointer of each frame. The numbers and letters on the arrow are indicative of all the various situations encountered in conventional bowling. The area, in the particular ring designated by the indicia on the arrow, over which the hairline appears will indicate the number of pins toppled for that particular ball.

The clear plastic arrow or pointer enables the hairline and radial division lines to be readily observed when the arrow stops and enables the players to readily determine over which segments of the annular rings has the hairline disposed thereover. Inasmuch as mens and womens averages are dh ierent, the garnoboard is provided with two sides of the orientation of the indicia and the calculated layout being somewhat different whereby the difference in the layout of the various scoring areas will produce the normal difference between men and women bowlers. This device will provide every possible situation found or encountered in conventional bowling and is calculated accurately to produce occurrences in ratio of pin hits typical to average bowling. The numerals in the rings are staggered so that each like number would not be all in one segment thus making the ratio of occurrences of each ring of numbers balance and produces true to conventional bowling scores. Specifically, the present invention provides for splits on the first spin and also provides for a no-pin hit on the second spin of a one pin hit and provides for toppling a split or any part of a split on the second spin. This device will produce scores typical to average men and women bowlers, and, in some instances, it is possible that women bowlers may obtain a higher score thm men bowlers which is also true in conventional bowling. Thus, the present invention provides a highly novel and entertaining bowling game device in which all of the situations encountered in conventional bowling are provided for and occur in the ratio in which they normally occur in conventional bowling. "the score of the bowlers participatin in the game may be kept on a miniature score sheet similar to the conventional score sheet provided for conventional bowling.

The circled indicia indicates a split was gotten on the first spin of a frame, so for the second spin of that frame the player spins again in an attempt to topple the remaining pins and when the arrow' stops the player finds that number on the arrow and reads the segment under the hairline in that circle.

The bowling game device is designed with two sides, one side to be used by men and the other side by women. This design is made to produce more accuracy in the game since mens and womens averages are different, their respective sides of this game are calculated to produce that difference and includes features as set forth hereinafter.

The transparent arrow 16 does not obstruct the view of the indicia on the gameboard face. This allows the player to readily and easily see in which segment of the circle the hairline of the arrow falls within and what indicia lies under the arrow when it comes to rest even in cases when the arrow stops over a number or segment line. A separate ring on the garneboard faces for providing every possible situation encountered in conventional bowling. The arrow designed with separate indicia indicative of every possible bowling situation encountered in conventional bowling to correspond with rings of the garneboard to aid in simplification of playing the same. A hairline on the transparent arrow to accurately point out in which segment of the circle the arrow comes to a rest. All rings are calculated accurately to provide the proper ratio of occurrences of pin hits etc. to produce authentic bowling scores typical to conventional bowling.

On the gameboard the solid symbol indicates a foul and the broken symbol indicates a gutter. The outside ring is read for the first spin of each frame. Read the segment of the circle that the hairline of the arrow falls into to see how many pins were toppled on the first spin. If the arrow stops within segment 1%, indicating a strike or ten pins toppled, mark an X on your score sheet in the box in the upper right on the frame and do not spin again until your next turn. If the arrow stops on anything other than a ten, mark that number or letter on your score sheet to the left of the box in the upper right of the frame and spin again in an attempt to topple the remaining pins for a total of ten. When the arrow stops, find the number of the first spin on the arrow and read the segment of that circle within which the hairline fell to see how many more pins were toppled on the second spin. If the total of these two spins is ten, which means you have a spare, mark a in the box in the upper right of the frame and do not spin again until your next turn. if the total of the two spins is not ten, mark the number of pins toppled on the second spin in the box in the tpper right of the frame or if no pins were toppled on second spin, mark a dash in the box in the upper right of the frame and do not spin again until your next turn. Players should take turns bowling one frame at a time.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fmling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A bowling game device comprising a gameboard having planar top and bottom surfaces each having indicia thereon, said indioia including a plurality of concentric areas delineated by concentric division lines, said concentric areas being divided into a plurality of circumferential areas delineated by radial division lines, each of said circurrderential areas having numerical indicia therein for indicating the number of bowling pins knocked over for a particular bowling ball in a frame of bowling, certain of the circumferential areas having solidly colored areas designating the foul line and gutter area of a bowling alley where no score is registered, said gameboard having a centrally disposed aperture extending therethrough, a solid longitudinally elongated pointer of transparent material having a depending central pin rotatably and re: movably journaled in the central aperture of the gameboand, a knob extending upwardly from the top surface of the pointer so that the pointer may be spun and also enable the pointer to be removed and placed on the opposite side of the garneboand, said knob and pin being integrally formed of one piece, said pointer having a longitudinal hairline thereon and a plurality of longitudinally spaced numerical indicia aligned with the concentric areas for indicating the particular concentric area to read the indicated score for a particular ball said numerical indicia being alternately disposed on opposite sides of said hairline.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

